Bowerbird

If you are looking for a stylish gift or something special for your home, do check out Bowerbird, a exciting new home and giftware boutique that just opened recently in Holland Village (Singapore). This shop stocks products handpicked by owner Anna Miles, who travels the globe in search of exciting new items. The feeling of the shop is decadence and high fashion with an eclectic twist. It includes items such as high fashion crockery, designer cushions and unique lighting by designers such as the legendary Florence Broadhurst (whose gorgeous wallpapers and fabrics I mentioned in a previous post), Christoper Vine, Tabitha and Anna Chandler.

Bowerbird is now offering Laissezfaire blog readers 10% off all purchases made in the month of August. Just mention Laissezfaire to the lady at the checkout counter to get your discount. Thanks Anna!

(above) Black Chandelier espresso set from Christopher Vine

(above) Latest range of Florence Broadhurst cushions

Paper flowers

I used to make tons of paper flowers when I was growing up. Our school principal had this grand utopic vision of transforming the whole school into a garden of sorts. To achieve this, the entire school (including parents and teachers) was mobilised to make tons of paper bouquets. We had to surrender our paper flowers to our arts and crafts teacher each week for grading and decorating purposes. I somehow forgot all about this, until I saw these beautiful handmade tissue flowers at Martha Stewart Crafts! I really think they are gorgeous and my hands are itching again to make some for my dressing table and a friend who is getting married soon.

If you are interested in learning how to make these, you can actually purchase the starter kits. One is for smaller, delicate tissue flowers, while the other is for larger hanging versions.

Paper fans

Brilliant paper wall art at The NieNie Dialogues. These paper fans were DIY-ed to add colour and personalise a rented space. (via Bluelines)

Adding colours to walls

When it comes to decorating, white and neutral palettes are safe ways to go. However, they are not always the bext. Sometimes bold, vibrant colors are just what a room needs. But before you rush to slap a layer of paint onto your wall , do take some time to consider some of these details.

1. Lighting. Can't stress how important good lighting is in ones perception of a room. Where you can, take advantage of natural lighting to cast light and shade onto your walls and add visual depth to your room.

2. Mix and match similar colour tones on doors, walls and different surfaces in the same room to accentuate certain unique features. However, don't get too carried away with this. Usually, I will play with not more than 3 different colours on any major surface in the same room.

3. Use your wall as a backdrop for your artwork!

4. Pay attention to wall textures, especially if you have a simple room and are going for the sparse look.

5. Vary the colour intensity to create visual definition and depth.

6. Take extra care in selecting fabrics for your bedding, curtains, carpets etc. Use colours and prints that will go well with your wall colour.

For more tips on how to use colour for your rooms, click here.

(pics from Marie Claire Maison)

Inspirational dining rooms

Perhaps the biggest trend in design for entertaining today is the return of the dining room. These are separate dining rooms, not the kitchen/all-purpose room that was common for many years. With getting together with friends and family at home becoming more popular than ever, architects and home designers increasingly find themselves designing for people who love to entertain with food.

Here are some design ideas taken from the dining rooms I like from LivingEtc...

(above) I love the way this dining room is anchored by the bold coloured carpet with a touch of green to soften the look of the room.
(above) The use of bright upholstery really gives a modern and glamorous touch to the period furniture. Wonderful eclectic mix of lighting.
(above) Wonderful contrast here.
(above) I like the way the outdoors is integrated with the interior space here. Beautiful backdrop!
(above) A homely relaxed feel is achieved by mixing and matching chairs to a simple pine table.
(above) A dining room(or any room for that matter) is never quite finished without fresh flowers.

Neat Recharge Station

Loose wires round the house always drive me crazy. Just thought that this Bedford Smart Recharge Station is a really neat idea to recharge all your gadgets in one place. And it doesn't look that difficult to DIY it yourself too! Here is one more project on my list! For those who want it NOW, it is available at Pottery Barn. (via Oh Happy Day)

The Home Rejuvenation

Many thanks to The Home Rejuvenation for recently highlighting Laissezfaire as a design blog to visit! Thought I will take this opportunity as well to introduce our readers to them.

Run by Stan and Kus of KNQ Associates, The Home Rejuvenation regularly provides inspiring ideas on interior design. They recently introduced a useful resource on their blog for home owners entitled "Shops to visit ". These guys really spent quite a considerable amount of time consolidating a comprehensive list of furniture and home accessory shops in Singapore under this new 'Shops To Visit' section. Do check them out as well as read their link to this blog post 'How to Give Your Home a Makeover - 8 Easy Steps'.

(image from boostle.com)

EL VAQUERO (THE COWBOY)

What a cool design for a chair! It is made from materials used in the building industry which are not very common in the furniture design. You can even change the look of it by changing the magazine you hang on the rail! Think this will be an excellent (but not that comfy) design for a bus-stop or carriage seat. By eosmexico. (via)

Keri Smith

I recently got to know of Keri Smith. Keri is an author/illustrator who does freelance illustration. She has worked for a wide variety of clients worldwide. Some recent big names include The Washington Post, The NewYork Times, Ford Motor Co., and Hallmark. I just love the colours she employs and the freedom she seems to allow herself in her collages.

What I also like about Keri is her openness and honesty in sharing about how challenging it is to be in a creative field sometimes. You should read her "How to feel miserable as an artist", "How to make a living doing what you love" and the heartfelt lecture she gave to high school students on "Letting yourself soar". You will probably be able to appreciate it better if you are in a creative field yourself, or pursuing something you truely love. Practical, humourous and inspiring!

Keri also gives many wonderful ideas on how to stimulate your creativity. Check out 'The Collage Experiment" and " 100 Ideas". I loved 100 ideas so much that I printed the pdf and cut the pieces up to put in a handmade envelope. Will be randomly picking one out to challenge myself when I feel my creativity juice running low!

Fairground Studio

I did a post on the gorgeous patchwork-inspired lampshades by Karen of Fairground Studio some time back. Fairground Studio is currently offering a 10% on all lamps (with stands) to Laissezfaire blog readers. Just email them to order and mention Laissezfaire to get your discount. Thanks Karen!

Budget finds

I found out about this gorgeous mid century chairs from Floretro (via Decor8). Absolutely beautiful and timeless! I love it when old beautifully-made objects are given a new lease of life with just a fresh coat of paint. You can buy all four chairs newly upholstered for only $550, or start bidding at $450 on ebay! Quick!

For those of you out there who can't miss out of good budget finds, Holly of Decor8 will be posting a weekly summary of a few of her eBay picks for the week. Do check it out!

Le Petite Atelier de Paris

The next time you visit Paris, you have got to check out this pretty shop near the Pompidou Centre called Le Petite Atelier de Paris. Opened in 2005 by 2 designers, this boutique shop has a workshop inside where a series of beautiful items for daily use are conceived and handmade. I just love the raw, pastry-like, quality of the products. How imperfectly perfect!

(via Bloesem)

Takashi Iwasaki

Love these abstract hand embroidery by Takashi Iwasaki. So free and imaginative!
Also love this drawing (below) entitled "An Ideal Street". Speaking as an urban planner (I worked as one for a period of time), yes, this is an ideal street! I wish there were more streets like this in cities round the world!

Michelle Brand

Aren't these the most gorgeous things? Created by Michelle Brand, this fabric was produced by cutting, sanding and assembling the base of plastic bottles into the tapestry. (via sub-studio)

Beautiful Balconies

This housing block in Izola on the Slovenian coast was designed by Ofis Arhitekti. It was a winning entry for a national design competition calling for the design of two apartment buildings. While the units (ranging from studios to three-bedrooms) may be small, the unique trapezoidal-shaped balconies provide ample external space. Each balcony is also beautifully wrapped with colourful canvas awnings that provide both privacy and ventilation.
A visually pleasing building that is also responsive to Slovenia's Mediterranean climate. Really hope to see more of such projects, especially in tropical places like Singapore. (via the coolhunter)

Pink Prank Project

If you are obsessed with pink and wrapping paper, this is the project for you! It took 203m of paper and 5 people a cool 6 hours to wrap everything in this flat belonging to a messy friend. An immediate solution to clutter. Sure looks like an art gallery doesn't it? Click here to watch a video of how it was done!

Creative Business Cards

Aren't you tired of business cards that all look the same? Check out these creative cards that say more than just your name and designation. More creative inspirations at this flickr pool.

Scott Stulberg

I came across this website with the most amazing photography taken by Scott Stulberg. Some of his pictures really tug at the heart. You got to check out his website to see what I mean.

DROOG RAG CHAIR BY TEJO REMY

The chair is made by layering 15 bags of rags. It arrives ready made but the user has the option to recycle their own discarded clothers to be included in the design. Wonderful use for your old clothes! Available at greenergrassdesign

Old paper

I found out about appleseed today. This Etsy store sells packets of old paper which includes wallpaper, sheet music, pages of text, poems, greeting cards, trading & playing cards, matchbox covers, children's illustrations and text, maps,used stamps, postcards, atlas pages,old patterns,recipes... Mostly vintage. Good for inspiration and making pretty much anything with paper. (via poppytalk)

Clever mailboxes

I saw these really clever mailboxes in the July/August 2007 edition of Dwell magazine. Created by Mark Naden of Pure Design, the barcode is actually perforated so you can take a peek inside to see if you've got mail! Available here, but it looks like they're sold out right now.